Brella is a popular event management software widely used by many businesses and professionals, and not without its reasons.
Brella is an all-in-one solution offering a suite of tools for handling various aspects of event management: creating websites, managing registrations, attendee tracking, facilitating networking, and more. These features are delivered in a simple and intuitive interface, making it a favorite among many event planners.
Yet, despite its great features, Brella might not be the best option for everyone and not the most affordable option.
If you are planning an event at the moment—be it in-person, virtual, or hybrid events—-, you might be looking for a more affordable or user-friendly alternative, and this is why we’ve compiled a list of the six best Brella alternatives you can consider as your option.
After careful research and after comparing different event management solutions in the market, in this article, we will review Eventtia as the top alternative to Brella, as well as other 5 Brella alternatives: Hopin, Whova, Webex Events (formerly Socio), Accelevents, and Cvent. You’ll find an option from these six alternatives that suit your budget, objectives, and preferences.
By the end of this article, you’ll have a clearer idea of which event management software is the right fit for you and your next event in 2023.
What is Brella: an overview
Brella is an event management platform designed to help event planners and organizations plan, execute, and organize events of virtually any type and size.
It was founded in 2016 in Finland and has since grown to power over 10,000 events worldwide.
As an all-in-one solution, Brella offers a rich set of features, including attendee management tools, an intuitive event website builder, networking and matchmaking, sponsor monetization, event analytics, and more. All of these features are presented in an intuitive, easy-to-use interface.
Some of the key features and benefits of Brella are:
- An all-in-one solution covering all the critical aspects of event planning and management
- AI-driven feature to matchmake connections between attendees and sponsors based on their goals, interests, and priorities
- White-labeled app. You can customize the app with your branding elements.
- Advanced analytics, providing data-driven insights to help event planners measure and prove the impact and ROI of each event
However, Brella isn’t a perfect solution, and it does have some drawbacks that may allow potential users to look for alternatives instead. For instance:
- Brella is not the most affordable option available in the market. Users that are looking for a more cost-effective solution may look elsewhere.
- There are some popular and useful event planning and execution features not offered by Brella, such as live streaming, virtual booths, gamification, and more.
- Brella is not the easiest to set up and use and may involve a steep learning curve if you want to make the most of the platform.
When reviewing the top alternatives for Brella below, we will especially consider these drawbacks, and namely, how these alternatives can solve the problems Brella can’t solve.
How we chose the best Brella alternatives and competitors in this list
With so many event management software and platforms available, choosing the best ones to include in this list is very difficult.
This is why we are very careful with our research, and we’ve thoroughly assessed these different factors when evaluating the potential Brella alternatives available in the market at the moment:
- Features: we’ve only considered event management software solutions that offer similar or better features than Brella. We also considered whether the Brella competitor offers any unique or innovative features.
- Pricing: we considered the overall value of money, affordability, the flexibility of the pricing plans, but most importantly, transparency (i.e., no hidden fees, etc.) We also considered whether there were any free trials, discounts, or special offers.
- Customer reviews: we only considered solutions with a sizable amount of online reviews/testimonials on relevant software review platforms (G2, Trustpilot, Capterra, Trustpilot, etc.) We analyzed the reviews and testimonials of each alternative/competitor for the ratings, feedback, and recommendations of their customers. We also looked for any complaints or drawbacks/issues reported by the customers.
- Ease of use: we considered whether the Brella alternative or competitor is easy enough to use in relation to the features offered. It’s pretty reasonable for solutions offering complex features to have a relatively steep learning curve, but it shouldn’t be too difficult and confusing.
6 best alternatives and competitors to Brella: overview
→ Eventtia
Similar to Brella, Eventtia is an all-in-one event management platform, offering holistic features that can help you plan, organize, and execute your next event—whether it’s virtual, in-person, or hybrid—of any size in a single platform.
Since 2015, Eventtia has helped countless leading brands from 50 countries to host over 100,000 successful events.
Key features of Eventtia
- Event website builder: easily create professionally-designed and fully-functional event websites without any coding required. The website is fully customizable and you can add your own branding (logo, color scheme, etc.), domain name, design, and features as you see fit.
- Attendee management: manage your attendees’ data and track their participation in the event with ease. Easily segment your audience by tags and categories, and send personalized invitations, reminders, and surveys.
- Networking and matchmaking: AI-powered networking feature allowing attendees to match with relevant contacts based on their profiles, goals, interests, and availability, among other criteria. Attendees can easily schedule one-on-one meetings via chat or video conference.
- Mobile app: native mobile app for iOS and Android devices to enhance your attendees’ experiences. Enable interactive sessions like live polls, real-time Q&A, and more. The mobile app can also provide real-time information about the speakers, event agenda, sponsors, and more.
- Virtual stage: enable rich virtual events with high-quality video streaming and interactive features (live chat, polls, Q&A, etc.).
- Streaming: stream your event to multiple platforms (YouTube, Facebook Live, Twitch, Zoom Webinar) simultaneously.
How Eventtia fares vs. Brella
Features: both platforms offer rich sets of features, but Eventtia offers more features for managing in-person events. For example, Eventtia has a badge printing feature, allowing you to print personalized badges for your attendees on demand, and there’s also the ability to scan QR codes or NFC tags of your attendees to register and track your attendees’ participation in the venue.
Bella doesn’t offer these features, so we can consider Eventtia more complete and versatile in this category.
Pricing: Unlike Brella, which doesn’t offer transparent pricing (you need to contact sales for custom pricing), Eventtia offers more flexible and transparent plans:
- Express: designed for in-person events. An unlimited number of events, 12-month access, 3 admin users, starting at $1,250.
- Digital: designed for virtual and hybrid events, all features in Express plus event mobile app, virtual stage, engagement tools, streaming, etc. This plan starts at $1,500.
- Enterprise: for large-scale and complex events, it has custom pricing (contact sales). Offers all features from the Digital Plan plus custom integrations, dedicated account manager, advanced reporting, and more.
Overall, Eventtia has a more user-friendly interface, making it easier to use than Brella in setting up and managing events. It also offers more customization options in its website builder, while also offering a more stable and scalable platform, better at handling large-scale events.
→ Hopin
Hopin is a relatively new player in the event management scene, with the London-based company only being started in 2019 and the software, Hopim Events, only being launched in February 2020.
Yet, it quickly gained traction as one of the most popular event management solutions, especially due to its focus on virtual and hybrid events. It offers many interactive features that allow users to create virtual events that resemble in-person experiences.
Key features of Hopin
- Stages: create one or more virtual stages where you can broadcast your event (live or pre-recorded) to online attendees. Integration with StreamYard (which is also a Hopin product) to create an engaging event live stream with custom logos, backgrounds, etc.
- Networking: AI-powered matchmaking to suggest relevant connections to each attendee. Event planners can also enable one-on-one video meetings between attendees based on shared interests and goals.
- Breakout sessions: easily create breakout sessions (similar to Zoom Rooms), where attendees can join small group discussions on specific themes or topics. There are several different types of breakout rooms available, and you can assign speakers or moderators to each room.
- Sponsorship: invite sponsors to the event page to give them more visibility. You can also give virtual booths to sponsors, where they can showcase their products or services via images, videos, links, etc. With Hopin’s matchmaking feature, sponsors can also request one-on-one meetings with attendees who match their criteria.
- Ticketing: sell your event tickets using Hopin’s built-in payment processing or integrated third-party platforms like Sprite or Eventbrite. Set up different ticket types and prices, offer discount codes, and track your ticket sales with Hopin’s analytics feature.
- Analytics: measure your event’s performance with Hopin’s analytics. Easily access and analyze data on attendance, engagement, attendee satisfaction, sponsorship ROI, and other metrics. Easily export all data to your CRM system or other solutions for analysis purposes.
How Hopin fares vs. Brella
Features: while both solutions offer many similar features, Hopin offers more options and flexibility than Brella, especially for virtual and hybrid events. For example, Brella does not support onsite check-in for hybrid events, which is offered by Hopin Events. Bella also has a lower limit on the number of attendees per event (10,000) than Hopin Events (100,000)
Pricing: Hopin offers more transparency and lower starting prices than Brella by offering multiple pricing plans:
- Free: a free-forever plan, 1 admin seat, unlimited events, 100 attendees per event, 2 hours event length
- Starter: $99/month or $67/month if billed annually. 3 days event length, higher attendee numbers limit.
- Business: custom pricing, starting at $6,000. 10+ admin seats, unlimited events, custom event length, custom registrations.
Reviews: Hopin has an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 from 846 reviews on G2 Crowd, while Brella has an average rating of 4.6 stars from only 69 reviews. The much higher number of reviews indicated that Hopin has a higher customer base with higher satisfactions.
→ Whova
Whova was founded in 2012 and has grown rapidly since its launch to serve more than 20,000 events all around the world, including events from NASA, United Nations, TEDx, and more.
It is currently one of the most popular event management platforms available, offering the ability to host in-person, hybrid, and virtual events with its robust features.
Key features of Whova
- Agenda management: create and update event agenda easily with a drag-and-drop interface. Automatic sync with your website or app.
- Event mobile app: user-friendly and engaging mobile app to provide users with real-time event information and the ability to interact with other attendees and speakers before, during, and after the event. Also can facilitate interactive Q&A sessions and live polls.
- Attendee engagement: smart matchmaking algorithms to boost attendee networking. Create virtual communities with topic-based group discussions where attendees can share their ideas and feedback.
- Live streaming: stream your events as a live broadcast or on-demand content through Zoom or other popular platforms.
- Virtual booths: offer virtual booths for your sponsors or exhibitors to showcase their products and connect with attendees.
- Marketing: email marketing tools, enabling users to promote their events effectively. Easily create professional emails with built-in templates, and keep track of their performances via advanced analytics.
- Online registration: faster and easier event logistics with Whova’s online registration system supporting multiple ticket types, coupon codes, and more.
How Whova fares vs. Brella
Features: Whova offers some unique features not offered by Brella, including:
- Community board: a social-media-like feature that allows attendees to post their photos, messages, questions, or announcements related to the event. Attendees can interact with each other on these posts.
- Gamification: create fun and interactive games to boost attendee engagement throughout the event while encouraging them to network more.
- Analytics: Whova offers detailed reports on various event performance metrics such as attendee engagement, session attendance, and more.
Pricing: both Whova nor Brella don’t offer transparent pricing information on their websites, and both require you to contact their sales representatives for custom pricing. However, Brella has a higher starting price (starting from $ 3,000 per event) than Whova ($999 per year.)
Reviews: on major review sites like G2 Crowd, Trustpilot, and Capterra, Whova has more positive reviews in most categories such as ease of use and quality of support.
→ Webex Events
Webex Events (formerly Cisco Socio), is an all-in-one event management solution that has its roots in Webex Meeting Center, one of the oldest conferencing and collaboration tools available, initially launched in 1996.
It is designed as an end-to-end event management platform that is capable of powering immersive in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. With Webex Events, you can create fully branded and customized event experiences to maximize engagement and experience.
Key features of Webex Events
- Virtual event features: Webex Events comes with various interactive networking and engagement features to enhance your virtual events, such as live chat, polls, gamification, virtual sponsor booths, breakout rooms, and so on. An all-in-one solution for your virtual event needs.
- Networking and matchmaking: AI-powered matchmaking, allowing attendees and sponsors to set their preferences and goals to get matched with relevant people for one-on-one meetings.
- Mobile event app: facilitating attendees with the ability to access your event information on the go from an intuitive and fully customizable mobile app. The app supports iOS and Android and can be white-labeled to include your own logo and other branding elements
- Communities: craft a branded community allowing attendees to meet like-minded people for networking, sharing their thoughts, and accessing exclusive content. Create sub-communities based on topics or interests.
How Webex Events fares vs. Brella
Features: while both Brella and Webex Events offer many similar features, Webex Events does offer some unique features not offered by Brella. For instance, Webex Events has its unique virtual communities feature, allowing you to build communities for you to build virtual communities for your attendees to meet with each other. You can also use the created communities to share exclusive content.
Another unique Webex Events feature is the ability to host virtual career fairs, where you can allow participants to create branded booths, showcase job openings, collect resumes, and even schedule interviews.
Pricing: Both platforms do not publicly disclose their pricing on their websites, and you’ll need to request custom quotes by contacting sales representatives. However, Webex Events offers more versatile pricing based on your total number of attendees, and you can get add-on modules or services (i.e., streaming module, event registration module) according to your needs.
Customer reviews: Webex Events (formerly Socio) has an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars from 367 reviews on G2 Crowd, while Brella has a 4.6-star average from 69 reviews. Not only Webex Events has a higher average rating, but it also has more reviews, showing it has more satisfied customers than Brella.
→ Accelevents
Accelevents is one of the most popular event management solutions in recent years, especially due to its versatility in handling any type of event whether it’s virtual, hybrid, or in-person. With Accelevents, you can plan and manage your next event with ease.
Key features of Accelevents
- Event website builder: Accelevents offers one of the most intuitive website builders that is very easy to use. Easily add your own logo, color schemes, fonts, domain name, imagery, and others for consistent branding.
- Event registration features: easily manage your registration and ticketing process with Accelevents. Set up different ticket types, prices, discounts, and payment options.
- Live streaming and video chat: Accelevents offers native live sessions and video chats. You can stream to various popular platforms such as Zoom, YouTube Live, Vimeo Live, or Accelevents Studio.
- Interactive virtual event features: unlimited breakout rooms and polls, among other features like virtual expo halls and booths. Easily track both visits and engagement metrics of your virtual event.
How Accelevents fares vs. Brella
Features: Accelevents offers some unique features not offered by Brella at a lower price. For instance, Accelevents allows you to create unlimited breakout rooms and polls for your virtual sessions, while Brella limits you to 3 polls per virtual event and only 10 breakout rooms per session. With Accelevents, you can also use your own domain name and branding on its event website builder, while Brella only allows you to use a subdomain under its domain.
Pricing: Accelevents has more transparent and cost-effective pricing plans than Brella. Accelevents charges $1 per attendee+ $0.25 per session hour/attendee for virtual events and $2/attendee plus $0.50 per session hour/attendee for hybrid events without any hidden fee
Customer reviews: On G2 Crowd, Accelevents has better customer reviews than Brella with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars from 87 reviews, while Brella has a 4.6-star average from 69 reviews. Not only does Accelevents have a higher average rating, but it also has more reviews, showing it has a larger customer base with higher satisfaction.
→ Cvent
Cvent is another established player in the event management niche, having been founded in 1999, but it has undergone several major revamps until it became the fully-fledged event management software we know today.
Cvent is a very versatile platform, allowing you to easily plan, manage, promote, and measure the performance of your in-person, virtual, or hybrid events.
Key features of Cvent
- Registration: Cvent Event Management offers complete event registration features, from customizable registration forms to flexible payment options to cancellation management.
- Event marketing: personalized marketing features and fully branded custom website. You can also automate marketing and promotion efforts, manage speakers/sponsors/exhibitors, and integrate Cvent with your existing marketing automation and CRM tools.
- Venue sourcing: find the perfect venue for your event on Cvent’s interface, using its database of over 300,000 venues and hotels worldwide. Compare bids, negotiate contracts, and plan your budget without moving to another app.
- Event mobile app: easily create a mobile event app to facilitate your audience with real-time information access and interactive content.
- Attendee tracking: track attendee behavior and engagement during your event while utilizing NFC and RFID technologies. Collect attendee feedback with surveys.
How Cvent fares vs. Brella
Features: Cvent offers some unique features not offered by Brella, such as online registration, badge printing, lead retrieval, venue sourcing, gamification, and more. At the moment, BRella does not offer these features and rely more on integration with third-party solutions (which may translate into more expensive overall costs.
Pricing: Similar to Brella, Cvent also doesn’t publicly disclose its pricing, but offers custom quotes. Cvent’s pricing is determined by the number of attendees (registrations) and advanced add-on features activated by your specific requirements. Contact Cvent’s sales representatives for more details.
Customer reviews: on G2 Crowd, Cvent has a lower average rating of 4.3 stars, compared to Brella’s 4.6-star average. However, Cvent has 1,729 reviews in total compared to Brella’s 69, showing how Cvent is a more established solution with a much larger user base.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, these 6 alternatives and competitors to Brella we’ve discussed above offer unique features that may benefit different kinds of event planners. We hope this article has given you some insights into the pros and cons of these Brella alternatives.
If you are planning to host an event in the near future, we encourage you to check out these alternatives to Brella. You may be surprised by how much these platforms can offer for your event’s success.
